Slashdot Mirror

Another case of official corruption, this is what trump's base elected him for.

That's not a joke. Trump's entire candidacy is predicated on showing libtards that even the shittiest, most venal, incompetent, cowardly, un-american, traitorous dumbfuck is still better than obama. He's just delivering on that promise and his base fucking loves these guys. Just today Pence praised a man convicted of contempt of court for racial profiling as a "tireless champion of the rule of law."

LBJ said it back in 1960 and its still true today:

If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you.

If any of you libtards think outing this corruption will make an iota of difference, think again. The GOP is not a party of ideas, its the party of liberal tears and taxcuts for the ultra rich. They embrace corruption as long as the people doing it are on their "team."

News articles*:
1970 – Colder Winters Held Dawn of New Ice Age – Scientists See Ice Age In the Future (The Washington Post, January 11, 1970)
1970 – Is Mankind Manufacturing a New Ice Age for Itself? (L.A. Times, January 15, 1970)
1970 – New Ice Age May Descend On Man (Sumter Daily Item, January 26, 1970)
1970 – Pollution Prospect A Chilling One (Owosso Argus-Press, January 26, 1970)
1970 – Pollution’s 2-way ‘Freeze’ On Society (Middlesboro Daily News, January 28, 1970)
1970 – Cold Facts About Pollution (The Southeast Missourian, January 29, 1970)
1970 – Pollution Could Cause Ice Age, Agency Reports (St. Petersburg Times, March 4, 1970)
1970 – Pollution Called Ice Age Threat (St. Petersburg Times, June 26, 1970)
1970 – Dirt Will .Bring New Ice Age (The Sydney Morning Herald, October 19, 1970)
1971 – Ice Age Refugee Dies Underground (The Montreal Gazette, Febuary 17, 1971)
1971 – U.S. Scientist Sees New Ice Age Coming (The Washington Post, July 9, 1971)
1971 – Ice Age Around the Corner (Chicago Tribune, July 10, 1971)
1971 – New Ice Age Coming – It’s Already Getting Colder (L.A. Times, October 24, 1971)
1971 – Another Ice Age? Pollution Blocking Sunlight (The Day, November 1, 1971)
1971 – Air Pollution Could Bring An Ice Age (Harlan Daily Enterprise, November 4, 1971)

News articles*:
1970 – Colder Winters Held Dawn of New Ice Age – Scientists See Ice Age In the Future (The Washington Post, January 11, 1970)
1970 – Is Mankind Manufacturing a New Ice Age for Itself? (L.A. Times, January 15, 1970)
1970 – New Ice Age May Descend On Man (Sumter Daily Item, January 26, 1970)
1970 – Pollution Prospect A Chilling One (Owosso Argus-Press, January 26, 1970)
1970 – Pollution’s 2-way ‘Freeze’ On Society (Middlesboro Daily News, January 28, 1970)
1970 – Cold Facts About Pollution (The Southeast Missourian, January 29, 1970)
1970 – Pollution Could Cause Ice Age, Agency Reports (St. Petersburg Times, March 4, 1970)
1970 – Pollution Called Ice Age Threat (St. Petersburg Times, June 26, 1970)
1970 – Dirt Will .Bring New Ice Age (The Sydney Morning Herald, October 19, 1970)
1971 – Ice Age Refugee Dies Underground (The Montreal Gazette, Febuary 17, 1971)
1971 – U.S. Scientist Sees New Ice Age Coming (The Washington Post, July 9, 1971)
1971 – Ice Age Around the Corner (Chicago Tribune, July 10, 1971)
1971 – New Ice Age Coming – It’s Already Getting Colder (L.A. Times, October 24, 1971)
1971 – Another Ice Age? Pollution Blocking Sunlight (The Day, November 1, 1971)
1971 – Air Pollution Could Bring An Ice Age (Harlan Daily Enterprise, November 4, 1971)

News articles*:
1970 – Colder Winters Held Dawn of New Ice Age – Scientists See Ice Age In the Future (The Washington Post, January 11, 1970)
1970 – Is Mankind Manufacturing a New Ice Age for Itself? (L.A. Times, January 15, 1970)
1970 – New Ice Age May Descend On Man (Sumter Daily Item, January 26, 1970)
1970 – Pollution Prospect A Chilling One (Owosso Argus-Press, January 26, 1970)
1970 – Pollution’s 2-way ‘Freeze’ On Society (Middlesboro Daily News, January 28, 1970)
1970 – Cold Facts About Pollution (The Southeast Missourian, January 29, 1970)
1970 – Pollution Could Cause Ice Age, Agency Reports (St. Petersburg Times, March 4, 1970)
1970 – Pollution Called Ice Age Threat (St. Petersburg Times, June 26, 1970)
1970 – Dirt Will .Bring New Ice Age (The Sydney Morning Herald, October 19, 1970)
1971 – Ice Age Refugee Dies Underground (The Montreal Gazette, Febuary 17, 1971)
1971 – U.S. Scientist Sees New Ice Age Coming (The Washington Post, July 9, 1971)
1971 – Ice Age Around the Corner (Chicago Tribune, July 10, 1971)
1971 – New Ice Age Coming – It’s Already Getting Colder (L.A. Times, October 24, 1971)
1971 – Another Ice Age? Pollution Blocking Sunlight (The Day, November 1, 1971)
1971 – Air Pollution Could Bring An Ice Age (Harlan Daily Enterprise, November 4, 1971)

News articles*:
1970 – Colder Winters Held Dawn of New Ice Age – Scientists See Ice Age In the Future (The Washington Post, January 11, 1970)
1970 – Is Mankind Manufacturing a New Ice Age for Itself? (L.A. Times, January 15, 1970)
1970 – New Ice Age May Descend On Man (Sumter Daily Item, January 26, 1970)
1970 – Pollution Prospect A Chilling One (Owosso Argus-Press, January 26, 1970)
1970 – Pollution’s 2-way ‘Freeze’ On Society (Middlesboro Daily News, January 28, 1970)
1970 – Cold Facts About Pollution (The Southeast Missourian, January 29, 1970)
1970 – Pollution Could Cause Ice Age, Agency Reports (St. Petersburg Times, March 4, 1970)
1970 – Pollution Called Ice Age Threat (St. Petersburg Times, June 26, 1970)
1970 – Dirt Will .Bring New Ice Age (The Sydney Morning Herald, October 19, 1970)
1971 – Ice Age Refugee Dies Underground (The Montreal Gazette, Febuary 17, 1971)
1971 – U.S. Scientist Sees New Ice Age Coming (The Washington Post, July 9, 1971)
1971 – Ice Age Around the Corner (Chicago Tribune, July 10, 1971)
1971 – New Ice Age Coming – It’s Already Getting Colder (L.A. Times, October 24, 1971)
1971 – Another Ice Age? Pollution Blocking Sunlight (The Day, November 1, 1971)
1971 – Air Pollution Could Bring An Ice Age (Harlan Daily Enterprise, November 4, 1971)

News articles*:
1970 – Colder Winters Held Dawn of New Ice Age – Scientists See Ice Age In the Future (The Washington Post, January 11, 1970)
1970 – Is Mankind Manufacturing a New Ice Age for Itself? (L.A. Times, January 15, 1970)
1970 – New Ice Age May Descend On Man (Sumter Daily Item, January 26, 1970)
1970 – Pollution Prospect A Chilling One (Owosso Argus-Press, January 26, 1970)
1970 – Pollution’s 2-way ‘Freeze’ On Society (Middlesboro Daily News, January 28, 1970)
1970 – Cold Facts About Pollution (The Southeast Missourian, January 29, 1970)
1970 – Pollution Could Cause Ice Age, Agency Reports (St. Petersburg Times, March 4, 1970)
1970 – Pollution Called Ice Age Threat (St. Petersburg Times, June 26, 1970)
1970 – Dirt Will .Bring New Ice Age (The Sydney Morning Herald, October 19, 1970)
1971 – Ice Age Refugee Dies Underground (The Montreal Gazette, Febuary 17, 1971)
1971 – U.S. Scientist Sees New Ice Age Coming (The Washington Post, July 9, 1971)
1971 – Ice Age Around the Corner (Chicago Tribune, July 10, 1971)
1971 – New Ice Age Coming – It’s Already Getting Colder (L.A. Times, October 24, 1971)
1971 – Another Ice Age? Pollution Blocking Sunlight (The Day, November 1, 1971)
1971 – Air Pollution Could Bring An Ice Age (Harlan Daily Enterprise, November 4, 1971)

They are still mass murders that happened with machetes, but hey, for your sake, since you are google disabled:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/hungary/9190732/Hungarian-man-kills-four-members-of-his-family-with-large-machete-after-row.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiguan_kindergarten_attack
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cologne_school_massacre
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/190923522.html?dids=190923522:190923522&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=OCT+22%2C+1921&author=&pub=The+Washington+Post&desc=KILLS+11+AND+ENDS+OWN+LIFE&pqatl=google
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-71884392.html
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LME-AAAAIBAJ&sjid=bkwMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5902%2C7437434
While these aren't in the US, it would be incredibly stupid to think that mass murders won't happen if guns aren't present. The biggest mass murder in the US was done with a fertilizer bomb FFS.

What's more, when you buy Organic, you are (in most cases) supporting a local farmer

I wouldn't bet on it. At least in the big chains. Walmart (for instance), who actually has a pro-organic policy, advertises the fact that every year they demand (and get) lower and lower prices from their suppliers, and this goes for groceries too. Also, because they have a "hire within" policy (at least for knowledge-workers) that tends to move people from one position to another, they have a good turn-over in their (wholesale) buyers. This means that a small farmer has to compete with Mega-Farm corporations on price. And when they DO happen to make a contract with a single store, that buyer is likely to move on to some other position or store leaving the farmer to deal with the next buyer on the treadmill who probably has no experience in buying, or buying produce so they have to make a relationship with the new person and get them familiarized with their own organic policies.

Besides which, "organic" is so popular that Mega Farms have gotten the terms like organic legally redefined in their favor, allowing so many pesticides, so much artificial fertilizer, etc. so that they can sell it (and at a higher price than before) too!

It's only when Mega-Buyers get involved and start demanding higher standards that quality goes up. Take McDonald's and eggs. Does anyone remember how small and thin eggshells were getting about 10 years ago, before McDonald's demanded that the chickens NOT be kept in the dark 24/7, NOT be in wire cages barely larger than themselves from laying age till death, don't get stacked so they shit on each other (and can't move out of the way), get 'so' much time to run in a yard and socialize, get 'so' much sun a day or week or whatever. The eggs had all gotten covered with grey spots, a lot of them completely grey and so thin that you could easily break them just taking them from the carton.

And the fuss it caused! If you listened to the corporations whine you'd think the world would end, the price of eggs would soar out of the reach of a simple business, eggs would stop being eaten, and life as we knew it would end. But here it is a decade or so later, and eggs can be handled without velvet glove, the eggs have gotten (marginally) larger and the egg trade booms! No one (in the US) has died for a lack of eggs, and the hens live in a little less hell than they did.

I took BASIC in the summer between fourth and fifth grade. It was the summer before the TRS-80 and the Apple ][ were widely available, so we learned on the instructor's home-built ALTAIR. Storage was on paper tape. OK, so it wasn't standard curriculum (although it was held at a public school, it was privately arranged with the instructor volunteering his time). But just four years after that, The Math Box put Atari 800's in every Fairfax County school. Rumor has it that salesman made $80,000 commission. It wasn't until a few years ago that I learned the rest of the world went Commodore 64.

• 10/31/2008 - NBC News demands that Obama and McCain pull ads it alleges violate its copyright
• 02/11/2004 - NBC News demands that Bush ad it alleges violates its copyright
• 11/03/1990 - NBC News demands candidate Jane Brady pull ad containing video of Sen. Joe Biden's aborted 1987 presidential campaign that it alleges violates its copyright

I'm sure there are many more, but I didn't want to spend my entire Sunday listing them. The point is: they've been doing this for many, many years.

There's a problem when this makes it to court. It's the matter of the trustworthiness of the witnesses. Law enforcement officers with clean records versus a known drug dealer and disregard for the legal system and authority of law enforcement and the courts.

    Sure, sometimes bad cops go down. Sometimes it takes years. I had an interaction with a dirty cop, who's reports were entirely fiction other than my name and the arrest location. I won my case, but that didn't change his position in the least. It wasn't until a few years later that he went down for his corruption. This isn't the right case, but it's the right state and era.

http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sun_sentinel/access/88013435.html?dids=88013435:88013435&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+16%2C+1987&author=News%2FSun-Sentinel+wire+services&pub=South+Florida+Sun+-+Sentinel&desc=12+STATE+TROOPERS+WERE+FIRED+LAST+YEAR&pqatl=google

An analysis of employee discipline records by The Tampa Tribune showed that another 108 troopers out of the patrol's work force of 2,090 were reprimanded or suspended during 1986.

Because nobody in the history of terrorism had ever thought of bringing a bomb to an airpo- oh wait.

http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/603120512.html?dids=603120512:603120512&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=May+20%2C+1974&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=London+Airport+Bomb+Hurts+2%2C+Panics+Tourists&pqatl=google

That's reminiscent of a Mexican mayor who required his officers to regularly read books (and write short reports) in order to be eligible for promotion. I've been curious for some time how well that worked out. The LA Times story is archived here (behind a paywall but there's an abstract).

Man, this is a big deal. It's a tragedy that we haven't heard about this in the news before. It seems like the kind of thing Slashdot would have reported on years ago.

He's also the asshole that told all the public universities in Virginia they could no longer have policies of non-discrimination towards gays.

Stay classy.

Well, I live in Northern Virginia by DC so I'm painfully aware of his policies. In 2004, as a State Senator in Virginia's Senate, he stated "Homosexuality is wrong." This was in regards to a bill that would be introduced to add homosexuality under hate crime legislation after a particularly disturbing case. Cuccinelli vowed to fight any extension of gay rights. He would be reelected in 2007 and appointed as Attorney General this year.

Your fancy logic is no use here, this is politics. You have to disprove Cuccinelli's belief that "homosexuality is wrong" and his apparent reinforcement that it moves him up the voting chain so the populace agrees. Good luck, I sometimes have to interact with these people and often just sidestep any conversation in regards to gay rights (trust me, it's not worth it).

It doesn't end at gay rights either.

Only 5 years ago, Vaccine shortages were unheard of.

Vaccine Shortage Halts Inoculation (1955)

Polio Clinics Delayed By New Vaccine Shortage (1962)

No flu shots for healthy kids The United States Public Health Service Monday announced that healthy children between 3 and 18 will be left out of the nationwide swine flu immunization program because of a vaccine shortage. (1976)

Experts can't explain flu vaccine shortage (1980)

Of course, the truth is that the US Public Health Service has been involved in vaccine production since the beginning, but my understanding is that it is true that the Federal Government "sets" the price by purchasing a large amount of vaccine for distribution. PREPA passed in 2005 limits the liability exposure of vaccine producers by removing the right to a jury trial for persons injured by a covered vaccine, and was supposed to help sure up the market for vaccine.

Only 5 years ago, Vaccine shortages were unheard of.

Vaccine Shortage Halts Inoculation (1955)

Polio Clinics Delayed By New Vaccine Shortage (1962)

No flu shots for healthy kids The United States Public Health Service Monday announced that healthy children between 3 and 18 will be left out of the nationwide swine flu immunization program because of a vaccine shortage. (1976)

Experts can't explain flu vaccine shortage (1980)

Of course, the truth is that the US Public Health Service has been involved in vaccine production since the beginning, but my understanding is that it is true that the Federal Government "sets" the price by purchasing a large amount of vaccine for distribution. PREPA passed in 2005 limits the liability exposure of vaccine producers by removing the right to a jury trial for persons injured by a covered vaccine, and was supposed to help sure up the market for vaccine.

TFS notes that the politicians seem more annoyed that they are being cut out of the money, not how it affects the citizens.

They tried this in Springfield MO (sorry pay access to the local paper I read daily) http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/news_leader/access/1691011761.html?FMT=ABS&date=Jan+13,+2009

They don't even have to prove that you were driving to be ticketed, just the owner is ticketed... So there goes old fashion habeas corpus out the door. There is no reasonable means of redress if there is any issue, since it is just an administrational issue, not a criminal one. They also claimed that it was for "safety", except that they put them on the intersections with the most traffic, not the most accidents per intersection, or accidents per unit of traffic.

If you could contest it like any other ticket in court, then it might stop being an illegal attack of a government on it's citizens.

PS the US has used Echelon to get Boeing a european contract by finding out the figure they had to bit under to get the contract.

This was a claim made by Europe (specifically France) and never proven.

Take a look at this article, quoted here for your convenience:

"...the NSA runs Echelon jointly with Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. And European experts acknowledge that France, Germany and Russia routinely engage in industrial espionage to ferret out the commercial secrets of other countries."

Most of the whining about my statement has been for a citation. I find this rather hilarious, as the first person who responded to my post gave a citation that supported my point: that there had been earlier offers of peace from japan that were rejected by Roosevelt. Either way, the source I take my information from was the largely undisputed article printed shortly after Japan's surrender, authored by Walter Trohan. For those who do not have access to Proquest, The Journal of Historical Review gives a pretty good analysis of the article and also reprints the text at the bottom of the page.
From the Journal Article:

Trohan's article revealed that two days prior to Rooseveltâ(TM)s departure for Yalta, the president received a crucial, forty page memorandum from General Douglas MacArthur outlining five separate surrender overtures from highly placed Jap officials offering surrender terms which were virtually identical to the ones eventually dictated by the Allies to the Japanese in August.

Yes, there were 5 offers of peace relayed to the allies long before the atom bombs were dropped. The three I refer to in my original post were the three that had been relayed directly to US forces, the other two were relayed via the British.

Why is it that everyone focuses on the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, completely ignoring the months of fire raids that preceeded

I do not discount the magnitude of these bombings, but a quick search of Wikipedia does reveal that these missions began after the three offers of peace I am discussing. The terms which the allied forces made Japan agree to in the end (which only asked to keep their monarch in place) were identical to the ones given before these bombings. This means that the bombings were entirely unnecessary.

Furthermore, after having been burned to a crisp, they still wouldn't grant an unconditional surrender.

True, they did not agree to an unconditional surrender, but since Roosevelt dismissed the offer out of hand, it is also true that there was no effort truly made to find out if they would accept unconditional surrender. However, since the eventual surrender still allowed Japan the one condition they asked for, I find your point is rather moot.
Though, the bombings did have one effect. They made Japan desperate enough to make similar offers to Russia.
From the end of the Trohan article:

Just before the Japanese surrender the Russian foreign commissar disclosed that the Japs had made peace overtures through Moscow asking that the Soviets mediate the war. These overtures were made in the middle of June through the Russian foreign office and also through a personal letter from Hirohito to Stalin Both overtures were reported to the United States and Britain.

The analysis about bombers and civilian war is mostly correct. Additionally, I never really disagreed that eliminating the enemy's ability to wage war was effective, I only note that the extent to which it was taken in the Pacific Theater was completely unnecessary.

You're also wrong about why we never had future attacks from Japan. They'd have done it if they could ... we just w

Actually, Jews are more similar genetically to Arabs than white Europeans, and real research beats a Google Image search:

Dr. Ariella Oppenheim of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem said she had found considerable similarity between Jews and Israeli and Palestinian Arabs, as if the Y chromosomes of both groups had been drawn from a common population that began to expand 7,800 years ago.

"DNA research carried out at the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School and University College in London has shown that many Jews and Arabs are closely related."

Jews Are The Genetic Brothers Of Palestinians, Syrians, And Lebanese

Jerusalem Post - Experts find genetic Jewish-Arab link "The researchers found that the Arabs are more closely related to Jews than they are to the Welsh"

etc etc...

Ok, first of all, emergency contraceptive pills are not prescribed drugs. Anyone can go to a pharmacy and get them over the shelf!

Well, sort of. Many places still refuse to take them out from behind the counter, and they insist on putting the patient through an "interview" before allowing them to purchase the drug. I'm not sure if they'll actually deny them the drug if they're not happy with the answers to the questions.

Second, if I read your post right, the idea that a pharmacist has the authority to deny me drugs that a doctor prescribed, based soly on their religious beliefs is complete and utter bullshit!

It is absolutely bullshit. And yet it happens.

How did he stay in office so long if there was already evidence of corruption in 2003 and 2004?

His last election was in 2002

How did he stay in office so long if there was already evidence of corruption in 2003 and 2004?

The same way that William Jefferson of New Orleans did (and still is).

(Who, BTW, in response to the AC that also responded to your post, is NOT white)

How did he stay in office so long if there was already evidence of corruption in 2003 and 2004?

Well, instead of simply calling this mis-information, why don't you show counter-evidence? At least he has websites with pictures to prove it. I count myself as a "well-educated Chinese". I agree with his basic points although his tone is too angry. Dalai's rule is cruel. I don't know about the specifics of his birthday. But the cruelty of the serfdom is just a well-documented fact. You might think it's too disgusting to believe and choose to neglect the evidence. But it is obviously your problem instead of his. I suggest a national geography documentary for you: "Tibet: Inferno under Dalai Lama & aristoric rule". I also think Dalai is a politician who made bad decisions in the past and now try to get some power back. He and the entire "free tibet movement" are supported by CIA. I suggest "The CIA's Secret War in Tibet" by C Kenneth Conboy and James Morrison, www.kansaspress.ku.edu/concia.html. Actually, it is not secret anymore. CIA itself has unlocked those files showing how they aid Dalai: http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/34059556.html?dids=34059556:34059556&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Sep+15%2C+1998&author=JIM+MANN&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=CIA+Gave+Aid+to+Tibetan+Exiles+in+'60s%2C+Files+Show&pqatl=google ** US State Department archive on Tibet operations: http://www.state.gov/www/about_state/... Or you can hear it directly from the former CIA Executive Assistant, Sam Halpern, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcGCjo... "I think the basic the whole idea was to keep Chinese occupied somehow, keep them annoyed, keep them disturbed. No body wanted to go to war over Tibet. That's pretty clear. We did go to war over Korea. We did go to war over Indochina. We won't go to war over Tibet. And so, it was nuisance operation, basically nothing more . And I'll think it's American point of view, it wouldn't cost very much, even money or manpower. Anyway it was not manpower, it was Tibetan manpower. We were willing to help Tibetans from becoming a running sore and a nuisance to the Chinese"

• Started out slamming pay phones.
• Has been kidnapped (two 17yr old boys supposedly over paychecks? SURE!)
• He tried the porn business
• Likes Speeding
• and not paying speeding tickets
• and running from police attempting to pull him over and arrest him for driving on suspended/revoked license

• Started out slamming pay phones.
• Has been kidnapped (two 17yr old boys supposedly over paychecks? SURE!)
• He tried the porn business
• Likes Speeding
• and not paying speeding tickets
• and running from police attempting to pull him over and arrest him for driving on suspended/revoked license

bar code scanners aren't all that high-tech anymore, are they?

Well, to be fair, the person who wrote the article was George H. W. Bush. (1992)

I believe it was the March 19th LA times where I read that, though I can't view the full article in the archives, so I'm not entirely sure if I'm remembering right.

here's the archive link.

I would caution everyone to note first of all that the FA is from the Daily Mail and so most of the facts contained therein are subject to question.

As some have noted this incident took place approximately a year ago and in fact it's not even the first time that the Chinese have stalked the Kitty Hawk - albeit from a greater distance that time.

Essentially what the Mail have done here is to raise an issue that ticks all their usual buttons.

• It takes a dig at the Americans - note the use of "dumbstruck", "embarrassment" and "red-faced".
• It is a cheap article to do - dig up old news, stick some cheap stock pics in and you're done.
• It's about the Chinese - who are scary and foreign.

Consequently, on behalf of all Brits, I apologise for the existence of the Daily Mail - plainly we should do more to end it. On the other hand, however you have given the world Fox News and Ann Coulter - although they do hold a certain amusement value.

As an exercise use google news to see how many other 'articles' have now sprung up which in places basically copy the DM article word for word.. :)

Saddam invaded Kuwait and made lame attempt to explain his position on annexing it (it was always part of Iraq, etc). He started lining up armor and troops as though seriously considering doing the exact same thing across Saudi Arabia's northern border.

An excellent point, if only it weren't all lies.

CIA Tries Hand At Wikipedia

Newsday, August 17, 2007

Limited to subscribers, the gist is, that Wiki's new tracking tool traced the CIA to TV shows.

Well, if you've used Wikipedia, you know that already.

The article suggests that CIA users may have done this on their off-time.

Riight...

BSG 4.0 baby!
    See you there...or not...thanks!

I'm not sure if you're disagreeing with me or what. Even if you compare the SRP of Windows 3.1 (149.95) with a discounted price (139) today, which is an unfair comparison anyway, $150 vs. $140 isn't a price drop, it's effectively a price increase based on those massive economies of scale you just mentioned. Compare that to the Dell Inspiron Vista Premium Laptop, at $800 today, a Dell similar Dell notebook, featuring a 25 MHz 386SL processor with a 60 MB HDD (no, that's not a typo, that's 'megabyte'), was around $3000.

So if we compare the laptop price difference with Windows, Windows Vista Home Basic should cost around, what? $50 or so? And actually less, since Home Basic is a crippled OS.

This has very little to do with the article, but the L.A. Times recently published an article regarding the Toronto Sex Crimes Unit that focused on their fight against child pornography ("Sifting Clues to an Unsmiling Girl"). They are the law enforcement organization that photoshopped the victims out of child porn photos in order to get the public's assistance in identifying the backgrounds (it worked). In any case, the article had this amazing claim:

On one wall is a "Star Trek" poster with investigators' faces substituted for the Starship Enterprise crew. But even that alludes to a dark fact of their work: All but one of the offenders they have arrested in the last four years was a hard-core Trekkie.

Wow. All but one in four years. Seemed rather unlikely to me.

So, I called the Child Exploitation Section of the Toronto Sex Crimes Unit and spoke to Det. Ian Lamond, who was familiar with the Times article. He claims they were misquoted, or if that figure was given it was done so jokingly. Of course, even if the figure was given jokingly, shouldn't the Times reporter have clarified something that seems rather odd? Shouldn't her editors have questioned her sources?

Nevertheless, Det. Lamond does confirm that a majority of those arrested show "at least a passing interest in Star Trek, if not a strong interest." They've arrested well over one hundred people over the past four years and they can gauge this interest in Star Trek by the arrestees' "paraphenalia, books, videotapes and DVDs."

Det. Constable Warren Bulmer slips on a Klingon sash and shield they confiscated in a recent raid. "It has something to do with a fantasy world where mutants and monsters have power and where the usual rules don't apply," Bulmer reflects. "But beyond that, I can't really explain it."

I asked Det. Lamond if this wasn't simply a general interest in science fiction and fantasy, such as Star Wars or Harry Potter or similar. Paraphrasing his answer, he said, while there was sometimes other science fiction and fantasy paraphenalia, Star Trek was the most consistent and when he referred to a majority of the arrestees being Star Trek fans, it was Star Trek-specific.

This has very little to do with the article, but the L.A. Times recently published an article regarding the Toronto Sex Crimes Unit that focused on their fight against child pornography ("Sifting Clues to an Unsmiling Girl"). They are the law enforcement organization that photoshopped the victims out of child porn photos in order to get the public's assistance in identifying the backgrounds (it worked). In any case, the article had this amazing claim:

On one wall is a "Star Trek" poster with investigators' faces substituted for the Starship Enterprise crew. But even that alludes to a dark fact of their work: All but one of the offenders they have arrested in the last four years was a hard-core Trekkie.

Wow. All but one in four years. Seemed rather unlikely to me.

So, I called the Child Exploitation Section of the Toronto Sex Crimes Unit and spoke to Det. Ian Lamond, who was familiar with the Times article. He claims they were misquoted, or if that figure was given it was done so jokingly. Of course, even if the figure was given jokingly, shouldn't the Times reporter have clarified something that seems rather odd? Shouldn't her editors have questioned her sources?

Nevertheless, Det. Lamond does confirm that a majority of those arrested show "at least a passing interest in Star Trek, if not a strong interest." They've arrested well over one hundred people over the past four years and they can gauge this interest in Star Trek by the arrestees' "paraphenalia, books, videotapes and DVDs."

Det. Constable Warren Bulmer slips on a Klingon sash and shield they confiscated in a recent raid. "It has something to do with a fantasy world where mutants and monsters have power and where the usual rules don't apply," Bulmer reflects. "But beyond that, I can't really explain it."

I asked Det. Lamond if this wasn't simply a general interest in science fiction and fantasy, such as Star Wars or Harry Potter or similar. Paraphrasing his answer, he said, while there was sometimes other science fiction and fantasy paraphenalia, Star Trek was the most consistent and when he referred to a majority of the arrestees being Star Trek fans, it was Star Trek-specific.

This has very little to do with the article, but the L.A. Times recently published an article regarding the Toronto Sex Crimes Unit that focused on their fight against child pornography ("Sifting Clues to an Unsmiling Girl"). They are the law enforcement organization that photoshopped the victims out of child porn photos in order to get the public's assistance in identifying the backgrounds (it worked). In any case, the article had this amazing claim:

On one wall is a "Star Trek" poster with investigators' faces substituted for the Starship Enterprise crew. But even that alludes to a dark fact of their work: All but one of the offenders they have arrested in the last four years was a hard-core Trekkie.

Wow. All but one in four years. Seemed rather unlikely to me.

So, I called the Child Exploitation Section of the Toronto Sex Crimes Unit and spoke to Det. Ian Lamond, who was familiar with the Times article. He claims they were misquoted, or if that figure was given it was done so jokingly. Of course, even if the figure was given jokingly, shouldn't the Times reporter have clarified something that seems rather odd? Shouldn't her editors have questioned her sources?

Nevertheless, Det. Lamond does confirm that a majority of those arrested show "at least a passing interest in Star Trek, if not a strong interest." They've arrested well over one hundred people over the past four years and they can gauge this interest in Star Trek by the arrestees' "paraphenalia, books, videotapes and DVDs."

Det. Constable Warren Bulmer slips on a Klingon sash and shield they confiscated in a recent raid. "It has something to do with a fantasy world where mutants and monsters have power and where the usual rules don't apply," Bulmer reflects. "But beyond that, I can't really explain it."

I asked Det. Lamond if this wasn't simply a general interest in science fiction and fantasy, such as Star Wars or Harry Potter or similar. Paraphrasing his answer, he said, while there was sometimes other science fiction and fantasy paraphenalia, Star Trek was the most consistent and when he referred to a majority of the arrestees being Star Trek fans, it was Star Trek-specific.

This has very little to do with the article, but the L.A. Times recently published an article regarding the Toronto Sex Crimes Unit that focused on their fight against child pornography ("Sifting Clues to an Unsmiling Girl"). They are the law enforcement organization that photoshopped the victims out of child porn photos in order to get the public's assistance in identifying the backgrounds (it worked). In any case, the article had this amazing claim:

On one wall is a "Star Trek" poster with investigators' faces substituted for the Starship Enterprise crew. But even that alludes to a dark fact of their work: All but one of the offenders they have arrested in the last four years was a hard-core Trekkie.

Wow. All but one in four years. Seemed rather unlikely to me.

So, I called the Child Exploitation Section of the Toronto Sex Crimes Unit and spoke to Det. Ian Lamond, who was familiar with the Times article. He claims they were misquoted, or if that figure was given it was done so jokingly. Of course, even if the figure was given jokingly, shouldn't the Times reporter have clarified something that seems rather odd? Shouldn't her editors have questioned her sources?

Nevertheless, Det. Lamond does confirm that a majority of those arrested show "at least a passing interest in Star Trek, if not a strong interest." They've arrested well over one hundred people over the past four years and they can gauge this interest in Star Trek by the arrestees' "paraphenalia, books, videotapes and DVDs."

Det. Constable Warren Bulmer slips on a Klingon sash and shield they confiscated in a recent raid. "It has something to do with a fantasy world where mutants and monsters have power and where the usual rules don't apply," Bulmer reflects. "But beyond that, I can't really explain it."

I asked Det. Lamond if this wasn't simply a general interest in science fiction and fantasy, such as Star Wars or Harry Potter or similar. Paraphrasing his answer, he said, while there was sometimes other science fiction and fantasy paraphenalia, Star Trek was the most consistent and when he referred to a majority of the arrestees being Star Trek fans, it was Star Trek-specific.

This has very little to do with the article, but the L.A. Times recently published an article regarding the Toronto Sex Crimes Unit that focused on their fight against child pornography ("Sifting Clues to an Unsmiling Girl"). They are the law enforcement organization that photoshopped the victims out of child porn photos in order to get the public's assistance in identifying the backgrounds (it worked). In any case, the article had this amazing claim:

On one wall is a "Star Trek" poster with investigators' faces substituted for the Starship Enterprise crew. But even that alludes to a dark fact of their work: All but one of the offenders they have arrested in the last four years was a hard-core Trekkie.

Wow. All but one in four years. Seemed rather unlikely to me.

So, I called the Child Exploitation Section of the Toronto Sex Crimes Unit and spoke to Det. Ian Lamond, who was familiar with the Times article. He claims they were misquoted, or if that figure was given it was done so jokingly. Of course, even if the figure was given jokingly, shouldn't the Times reporter have clarified something that seems rather odd? Shouldn't her editors have questioned her sources?

Nevertheless, Det. Lamond does confirm that a majority of those arrested show "at least a passing interest in Star Trek, if not a strong interest." They've arrested well over one hundred people over the past four years and they can gauge this interest in Star Trek by the arrestees' "paraphenalia, books, videotapes and DVDs."

Det. Constable Warren Bulmer slips on a Klingon sash and shield they confiscated in a recent raid. "It has something to do with a fantasy world where mutants and monsters have power and where the usual rules don't apply," Bulmer reflects. "But beyond that, I can't really explain it."

I asked Det. Lamond if this wasn't simply a general interest in science fiction and fantasy, such as Star Wars or Harry Potter or similar. Paraphrasing his answer, he said, while there was sometimes other science fiction and fantasy paraphenalia, Star Trek was the most consistent and when he referred to a majority of the arrestees being Star Trek fans, it was Star Trek-specific.

This has very little to do with the article, but the L.A. Times recently published an article regarding the Toronto Sex Crimes Unit that focused on their fight against child pornography ("Sifting Clues to an Unsmiling Girl"). They are the law enforcement organization that photoshopped the victims out of child porn photos in order to get the public's assistance in identifying the backgrounds (it worked). In any case, the article had this amazing claim:

On one wall is a "Star Trek" poster with investigators' faces substituted for the Starship Enterprise crew. But even that alludes to a dark fact of their work: All but one of the offenders they have arrested in the last four years was a hard-core Trekkie.

Wow. All but one in four years. Seemed rather unlikely to me.

So, I called the Child Exploitation Section of the Toronto Sex Crimes Unit and spoke to Det. Ian Lamond, who was familiar with the Times article. He claims they were misquoted, or if that figure was given it was done so jokingly. Of course, even if the figure was given jokingly, shouldn't the Times reporter have clarified something that seems rather odd? Shouldn't her editors have questioned her sources?

Nevertheless, Det. Lamond does confirm that a majority of those arrested show "at least a passing interest in Star Trek, if not a strong interest." They've arrested well over one hundred people over the past four years and they can gauge this interest in Star Trek by the arrestees' "paraphenalia, books, videotapes and DVDs."

Det. Constable Warren Bulmer slips on a Klingon sash and shield they confiscated in a recent raid. "It has something to do with a fantasy world where mutants and monsters have power and where the usual rules don't apply," Bulmer reflects. "But beyond that, I can't really explain it."

I asked Det. Lamond if this wasn't simply a general interest in science fiction and fantasy, such as Star Wars or Harry Potter or similar. Paraphrasing his answer, he said, while there was sometimes other science fiction and fantasy paraphenalia, Star Trek was the most consistent and when he referred to a majority of the arrestees being Star Trek fans, it was Star Trek-specific.

This has very little to do with the article, but the L.A. Times recently published an article regarding the Toronto Sex Crimes Unit [torontopolice.on.ca] that focused on their fight against child pornography ("Sifting Clues to an Unsmiling Girl" [pqarchiver.com]). They are the law enforcement organization that photoshopped the victims out of child porn photos in order to get the public's assistance in identifying the backgrounds (it worked). In any case, the article had this amazing claim:

On one wall is a "Star Trek" poster with investigators' faces substituted for the Starship Enterprise crew. But even that alludes to a dark fact of their work: All but one of the offenders they have arrested in the last four years was a hard-core Trekkie.

Wow. All but one in four years. Seemed rather unlikely to me.

So, I called the Child Exploitation Section of the Toronto Sex Crimes Unit and spoke to Det. Ian Lamond, who was familiar with the Times article. He claims they were misquoted, or if that figure was given it was done so jokingly. Of course, even if the figure was given jokingly, shouldn't the Times reporter have clarified something that seems rather odd? Shouldn't her editors have questioned her sources?

Nevertheless, Det. Lamond does confirm that a majority of those arrested show "at least a passing interest in Star Trek, if not a strong interest." They've arrested well over one hundred people over the past four years and they can gauge this interest in Star Trek by the arrestees' "paraphenalia, books, videotapes and DVDs."

Det. Constable Warren Bulmer slips on a Klingon sash and shield they confiscated in a recent raid. "It has something to do with a fantasy world where mutants and monsters have power and where the usual rules don't apply," Bulmer reflects. "But beyond that, I can't really explain it."

I asked Det. Lamond if this wasn't simply a general interest in science fiction and fantasy, such as Star Wars or Harry Potter or similar. Paraphrasing his answer, he said, while there was sometimes other science fiction and fantasy paraphenalia, Star Trek was the most consistent and when he referred to a majority of the arrestees being Star Trek fans, it was Star Trek-specific.

This has very little to do with the article, but the L.A. Times recently published an article regarding the Toronto Sex Crimes Unit that focused on their fight against child pornography ("Sifting Clues to an Unsmiling Girl"). They are the law enforcement organization that photoshopped the victims out of child porn photos in order to get the public's assistance in identifying the backgrounds (it worked). In any case, the article had this amazing claim:

On one wall is a "Star Trek" poster with investigators' faces substituted for the Starship Enterprise crew. But even that alludes to a dark fact of their work: All but one of the offenders they have arrested in the last four years was a hard-core Trekkie.

Wow. All but one in four years. Seemed rather unlikely to me.

So, I called the Child Exploitation Section of the Toronto Sex Crimes Unit and spoke to Det. Ian Lamond, who was familiar with the Times article. He claims they were misquoted, or if that figure was given it was done so jokingly. Of course, even if the figure was given jokingly, shouldn't the Times reporter have clarified something that seems rather odd? Shouldn't her editors have questioned her sources?

Nevertheless, Det. Lamond does confirm that a majority of those arrested show "at least a passing interest in Star Trek, if not a strong interest." They've arrested well over one hundred people over the past four years and they can gauge this interest in Star Trek by the arrestees' "paraphenalia, books, videotapes and DVDs."

Det. Constable Warren Bulmer slips on a Klingon sash and shield they confiscated in a recent raid. "It has something to do with a fantasy world where mutants and monsters have power and where the usual rules don't apply," Bulmer reflects. "But beyond that, I can't really explain it."

I asked Det. Lamond if this wasn't simply a general interest in science fiction and fantasy, such as Star Wars or Harry Potter or similar. Paraphrasing his answer, he said, while there was sometimes other science fiction and fantasy paraphenalia, Star Trek was the most consistent and when he referred to a majority of the arrestees being Star Trek fans, it was Star Trek-specific.

One might argue many things, but one's arguement would be for naught.

That washington monthly article is flat out wrong.

The patent office is beholden to no one. It generates profits, so much so that Congress funnels money away to fund their pork. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB 0A14F93F550C7A8DDDAF0894D8404482
The USPTO has generated profits for more than 100 years
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/csmonitor_historic/acc ess/212513212.html?dids=212513212:212513212&FMT=AB S&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=Sep+06%2C+1913&author=&pub=Chri stian+Science+Monitor&desc=PATENT+OFFICE+SHOWS+PRO FIT&pqatl=google
Just because the washingtonmonthly shares your political views doesn't mean it is based on fact.

The USPTO charges more than what it costs to examine patents, and they do not have to grant a patent. They could take the $380, and say sod off. They do this quite often really, and then if you want to appeal you have to pay them more, and they usually still tell you to go away. The additional patent maintence fees is intended to get cost inefficent patents into the public domain, if you do no pay a patent maintence fee within 6 months of the due date (3 of them) then your patent ends before its full term of 20 years. If your patent is making you money, you remember to pay the fee, if you forget your patent expires, forever.

The "explosion" of patents in the 90s was due to the Federal Circuit decision which held 'everything man made' was patentable. Before that decision only a discrete list of things could be patented, which the USPTO fiercely guarded, if the invention was not of a type on the list it was rejected as prima facie unpatentable. But the USPTO must follow the courts decision until the court changes its mind or Congress clarifies their vauge statute. (35 U.S.C. s. 101)

If you have a Bach of Sci, I encourage you to take the patent bar and change the system from within. Educate yourself so we can dispell FUD.

This has very little to do with the article, but the L.A. Times recently published an article regarding the Toronto Sex Crimes Unit that focused on their fight against child pornography ("Sifting Clues to an Unsmiling Girl"). They are the law enforcement organization that photoshopped the victims out of child porn photos in order to get the public's assistance in identifying the backgrounds (it worked). In any case, the article had this amazing claim:

On one wall is a "Star Trek" poster with investigators' faces substituted for the Starship Enterprise crew. But even that alludes to a dark fact of their work: All but one of the offenders they have arrested in the last four years was a hard-core Trekkie.

Wow. All but one in four years. Seemed rather unlikely to me.

So, I called the Child Exploitation Section of the Toronto Sex Crimes Unit and spoke to Det. Ian Lamond, who was familiar with the Times article. He claims they were misquoted, or if that figure was given it was done so jokingly. Of course, even if the figure was given jokingly, shouldn't the Times reporter have clarified something that seems rather odd? Shouldn't her editors have questioned her sources?

Nevertheless, Det. Lamond does confirm that a majority of those arrested show "at least a passing interest in Star Trek, if not a strong interest." They've arrested well over one hundred people over the past four years and they can gauge this interest in Star Trek by the arrestees' "paraphenalia, books, videotapes and DVDs."

Det. Constable Warren Bulmer slips on a Klingon sash and shield they confiscated in a recent raid. "It has something to do with a fantasy world where mutants and monsters have power and where the usual rules don't apply," Bulmer reflects. "But beyond that, I can't really explain it."

I asked Det. Lamond if this wasn't simply a general interest in science fiction and fantasy, such as Star Wars or Harry Potter or similar. Paraphrasing his answer, he said, while there was sometimes other science fiction and fantasy paraphenalia, Star Trek was the most consistent and when he referred to a majority of the arrestees being Star Trek fans, it was Star Trek-specific.

This has very little to do with the article, but the L.A. Times recently published an article regarding the Toronto Sex Crimes Unit that focused on their fight against child pornography ("Sifting Clues to an Unsmiling Girl"). They are the law enforcement organization that photoshopped the victims out of child porn photos in order to get the public's assistance in identifying the backgrounds (it worked). In any case, the article had this amazing claim:

On one wall is a "Star Trek" poster with investigators' faces substituted for the Starship Enterprise crew. But even that alludes to a dark fact of their work: All but one of the offenders they have arrested in the last four years was a hard-core Trekkie.

Wow. All but one in four years. Seemed rather unlikely to me.

So, I called the Child Exploitation Section of the Toronto Sex Crimes Unit and spoke to Det. Ian Lamond, who was familiar with the Times article. He claims they were misquoted, or if that figure was given it was done so jokingly. Of course, even if the figure was given jokingly, shouldn't the Times reporter have clarified something that seems rather odd? Shouldn't her editors have questioned her sources?

Nevertheless, Det. Lamond does confirm that a majority of those arrested show "at least a passing interest in Star Trek, if not a strong interest." They've arrested well over one hundred people over the past four years and they can gauge this interest in Star Trek by the arrestees' "paraphenalia, books, videotapes and DVDs."

Det. Constable Warren Bulmer slips on a Klingon sash and shield they confiscated in a recent raid. "It has something to do with a fantasy world where mutants and monsters have power and where the usual rules don't apply," Bulmer reflects. "But beyond that, I can't really explain it."

I asked Det. Lamond if this wasn't simply a general interest in science fiction and fantasy, such as Star Wars or Harry Potter or similar. Paraphrasing his answer, he said, while there was sometimes other science fiction and fantasy paraphenalia, Star Trek was the most consistent and when he referred to a majority of the arrestees being Star Trek fans, it was Star Trek-specific.

...that the French had an aversion to things normal people like! Apparently they like stuff besides snails, frog's legs, and French military defeats!

Must I conclude from you half baked wrong arguments you are still pissed about being wrong about Irak?

In the name of France, and all the french people, I say "We're sorry."

Sorry for being right. Sorry for your not-so-funny comment. Sorry your life seem to be so miserable you need to hide it behind ill conceived contempt for the french.

And believe us, if is there something the french are immune to, it is contempt... You see, arrogance is so much in our DNA and culture you'll need talent to even attract anything from us but smiling frowns of pity for the average disdainful comment. (I'm not speaking of your above abysmal comment, of course. Please, check your facts and have some brain examination for a possible Hydrocephalus affliction)

You see, it's like a game, for us. The Brittish know that we like to argument for the sake of argument... And the other's utter humiliation. Not so dissimilar from Tauromachy. We, the french, take some fact, and go against the official trend saying something we know is true. (Note the we know is true part. It's important). And somehow, there is always some braindead macho man coming up with his "My own is longer than your's" challenge to defy us on our own grounds. And then, of course, the braindead monkey ridiculizes himself. Of course, even after admitting some semantic miscalculation, the victim can't still accept being in the bad end of an international joke, apparently everyone knowing it even before the beginning of the invasion.

And then, after all the efforts we put together, using our intelligence services, working night and day, trying not to spill the joke and contain our laughter, sending our most talented orators, having half the world agreeing with our viewpoint when you painfully put together your supporters, the only biting, acid, venomous answer you have is "Hey, I was told they eat frogs, Muah ah ah!" ???

WTF???

-- Yours truly, France, (very, very, very disappointed)

This has very little to do with the article, but the L.A. Times recently published an article regarding the Toronto Sex Crimes Unit that focused on their fight against child pornography ("Sifting Clues to an Unsmiling Girl"). They are the law enforcement organization that photoshopped the victims out of child porn photos in order to get the public's assistance in identifying the backgrounds (it worked). In any case, the article had this amazing claim:

On one wall is a "Star Trek" poster with investigators' faces substituted for the Starship Enterprise crew. But even that alludes to a dark fact of their work: All but one of the offenders they have arrested in the last four years was a hard-core Trekkie.

Wow. All but one in four years. Seemed rather unlikely to me.

So, I called the Child Exploitation Section of the Toronto Sex Crimes Unit and spoke to Det. Ian Lamond, who was familiar with the Times article. He claims they were misquoted, or if that figure was given it was done so jokingly. Of course, even if the figure was given jokingly, shouldn't the Times reporter have clarified something that seems rather odd? Shouldn't her editors have questioned her sources?

Nevertheless, Det. Lamond does confirm that a majority of those arrested show "at least a passing interest in Star Trek, if not a strong interest." They've arrested well over one hundred people over the past four years and they can gauge this interest in Star Trek by the arrestees' "paraphenalia, books, videotapes and DVDs."

Det. Constable Warren Bulmer slips on a Klingon sash and shield they confiscated in a recent raid. "It has something to do with a fantasy world where mutants and monsters have power and where the usual rules don't apply," Bulmer reflects. "But beyond that, I can't really explain it."

I asked Det. Lamond if this wasn't simply a general interest in science fiction and fantasy, such as Star Wars or Harry Potter or similar. Paraphrasing his answer, he said, while there was sometimes other science fiction and fantasy paraphenalia, Star Trek was the most consistent and when he referred to a majority of the arrestees being Star Trek fans, it was Star Trek-specific.

This has very little to do with the article, but the L.A. Times recently published an article regarding the Toronto Sex Crimes Unit that focused on their fight against child pornography ("Sifting Clues to an Unsmiling Girl"). They are the law enforcement organization that photoshopped the victims out of child porn photos in order to get the public's assistance in identifying the backgrounds (it worked). In any case, the article had this amazing claim:

On one wall is a "Star Trek" poster with investigators' faces substituted for the Starship Enterprise crew. But even that alludes to a dark fact of their work: All but one of the offenders they have arrested in the last four years was a hard-core Trekkie.

Wow. All but one in four years. Seemed rather unlikely to me.

So, I called the Child Exploitation Section of the Toronto Sex Crimes Unit and spoke to Det. Ian Lamond, who was familiar with the Times article. He claims they were misquoted, or if that figure was given it was done so jokingly. Of course, even if the figure was given jokingly, shouldn't the Times reporter have clarified something that seems rather odd? Shouldn't her editors have questioned her sources?

Nevertheless, Det. Lamond does confirm that a majority of those arrested show "at least a passing interest in Star Trek, if not a strong interest." They've arrested well over one hundred people over the past four years and they can gauge this interest in Star Trek by the arrestees' "paraphenalia, books, videotapes and DVDs."

Det. Constable Warren Bulmer slips on a Klingon sash and shield they confiscated in a recent raid. "It has something to do with a fantasy world where mutants and monsters have power and where the usual rules don't apply," Bulmer reflects. "But beyond that, I can't really explain it."

I asked Det. Lamond if this wasn't simply a general interest in science fiction and fantasy, such as Star Wars or Harry Potter or similar. Paraphrasing his answer, he said, while there was sometimes other science fiction and fantasy paraphenalia, Star Trek was the most consistent and when he referred to a majority of the arrestees being Star Trek fans, it was Star Trek-specific.

This has very little to do with the article, but the L.A. Times recently published an article regarding the Toronto Sex Crimes Unit that focused on their fight against child pornography ("Sifting Clues to an Unsmiling Girl"). They are the law enforcement organization that photoshopped the victims out of child porn photos in order to get the public's assistance in identifying the backgrounds (it worked). In any case, the article had this amazing claim:

On one wall is a "Star Trek" poster with investigators' faces substituted for the Starship Enterprise crew. But even that alludes to a dark fact of their work: All but one of the offenders they have arrested in the last four years was a hard-core Trekkie.

Wow. All but one in four years. Seemed rather unlikely to me.

So, I called the Child Exploitation Section of the Toronto Sex Crimes Unit and spoke to Det. Ian Lamond, who was familiar with the Times article. He claims they were misquoted, or if that figure was given it was done so jokingly. Of course, even if the figure was given jokingly, shouldn't the Times reporter have clarified something that seems rather odd? Shouldn't her editors have questioned her sources?

Nevertheless, Det. Lamond does confirm that a majority of those arrested show "at least a passing interest in Star Trek, if not a strong interest." They've arrested well over one hundred people over the past four years and they can gauge this interest in Star Trek by the arrestees' "paraphenalia, books, videotapes and DVDs."

Det. Constable Warren Bulmer slips on a Klingon sash and shield they confiscated in a recent raid. "It has something to do with a fantasy world where mutants and monsters have power and where the usual rules don't apply," Bulmer reflects. "But beyond that, I can't really explain it."

I asked Det. Lamond if this wasn't simply a general interest in science fiction and fantasy, such as Star Wars or Harry Potter or similar. Paraphrasing his answer, he said, while there was sometimes other science fiction and fantasy paraphenalia, Star Trek was the most consistent and when he referred to a majority of the arrestees being Star Trek fans, it was Star Trek-specific.

Don't be so sure about the 10 year figure... look at the SIP program in Texas. Or the story in Virgina from a couple of years ago (Full story on another site); (Start of the archive story, need to pay for the full version)... And of course, commentary from FORMER MADD members...

The prohibitionist are back... and fighting strong now...

Nephilium

Why on earth aren't people continually drunk? I want ecstasy of the mind all the time. --- Jack Kerouac, beat writer